The city of Cyrene, a powerful Greek trading hold, maintains its grip on the Libyan coast with traditional Mediterranean strength. However, deeper in the African continent, unrest stirs. A powerful ring of cultists have taken over a number of Libyan villages by coercion and force, bending them to their will. They seek to build a holy army to "liberate" the Libyans from Cyrene's stranglehold. A lone town stands against them, stemming the tide until a messenger arrived in Cyrene with breathless word of the growing threat. At the same time, Cyrene's sovereignty is being threatened by their vastly superior neighbor, Egypt. Stretched thin by skirmishes with Egypt, Cyrene can only afford to send you and a few men to crush the uprising. Failure here may spell the end for Cyrene's independence.

You are the envoy of Cyrene, here to secure the region from rebellious elements. You start with a lightly-fortified base and some infantry; however, your presence has not gone unnoticed and the rebels begin their attack immediately!

A friendly village is valiantly defending itself on three sides from attacking cultists; they are focused entirely on their own survival and will be of little help to you when you decide to make your attack. However, their position means they will bear the brunt of the rebel assaults.

The cultists have fortified themselves behind a natural formation of rocky hills, and will not give up easily. To the east and west are two small villages controlled by the cultists, though there is some indication that they are unwilling to fight their fellow Libyans. A rebel fortress guards each village; destroying it without destroying the village center may convince the survivors to fight for you.

A tip from some nomads suggests that the cultists purchased the services of an army of mounted mercenaries; supposedly, they will arrive in great numbers within 15 minutes.